Victim
Services

I’m a victim
of a crime.
The offender was sentenced to
something they call “Community
Supervision.”What does this mean?
What happens next?

YOU HAVE NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN

This is a guide for you, the
victim and family members of the
victim of crime, to assist you
in understanding what happens
once the offender is placed on
community supervision and to
show you how, as a victim, you
are not forgotten. You have
rights. The system can help.

What Are My Rights As A Victim?

Article
56.02 of the Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure establishes
crime victim’s rights. A victim,
guardian of a victim, or close
relative of a deceased victim is
entitled to the following rights
within the criminal justice
system.

THE RIGHT to
receive adequate protection from
harm and threats of harm which
might be made by the offender
because you give information to
the prosecuting lawyers;

THE RIGHT to
have your safety and that of
your family taken into
consideration when bail is being
considered;

THE RIGHT,
if you request, to be told when
court actions are scheduled and
to be told in advance if those
court dates and times have been
canceled or rescheduled;

THE RIGHT,
if you request, to be told by a
peace officer about the
defendant’s right to bail and
about the criminal
investigation;

THE RIGHT,
if you request, to be told by
the district attorney’s office
about how the criminal justice
system works, about plea
bargaining, restitution, the
appeals process, and the parole
process;

THE RIGHT to
provide information to a
Community Supervision and
Corrections Department
(CSCD-adult probation)
conducting a presentence
investigation about the impact
of the offense on you and your
family;

THE RIGHT to
receive information about the
Texas Crime Victim Compensation
Fund, which provides financial
help to victims of violent crime
and, if you request, to receive
referrals to available social
service agencies which may
provide additional help;

THE RIGHT,
if you request, to be told about
parole proceedings by the TDCJ
Pardons and Paroles Division,
the right to argue against
parole of the offender, and the
right to be told if/when the
offender is released;

THE RIGHT to
be provided with a safe waiting
area before and during court
proceedings;

THE RIGHT to
the prompt return of any
property no longer required as
evidence;

THE RIGHT,
if you request, to have the
prosecutor notify your employer
of the necessity of your
testimony that may involve your
absence from work;

THE RIGHT,
if you request, and the offense
involved sexual contact, to
counseling regarding HIV and
AIDS; and

THE RIGHT
under Article 57.02, if you are
the victim of a sexual assault
or aggravated sexual assault, to
choose a pseudonym (made-up
name) to be used instead of your
real name on all public files
and records concerning the
offense. Ask your local law
enforcement agency for a
pseudonym form. The form remains
confidential.

Additionally,
Article 21.31 of the Texas Code
of Criminal Procedure gives you
the right when the crime
involved sexual contact, to ask
the judge to order the offender
to be tested for HIV or AIDS.
The judge may or may not order
the offender to be tested, but
if the judge does order the
testing, the offender has no
choice but to be tested. Test
results will be given directly
to the local health authority
who is required to tell the
victim the results of the
testing.

What Is Community Supervision?

In addition to sending the
offender to jail or prison, the
court can place the offender
under the supervision of the
local Community Supervision and
Corrections Department (CSCD),
formerly called adult probation.
The court sets out specific
conditions which the offender
must meet while supervised and a
plan is developed for providing
effective supervision.

Community Supervision seeks
to protect the public and
provide punishment and
rehabilitation of the offender.
If the offender does not follow
the conditions of supervision,
additional conditions can be
imposed or the offender can be
removed from community
supervision (revoked) and sent
to prison or county jail.
Community Supervision includes a
wide range of requirements, from
regular reporting and attending
counseling or life skills
classes, to being placed on
electronic monitoring and having
to submit to drug testing, to
placement into a residential
facility or state jail, and
varying levels of supervision in
between.

How Can I Find Out What’s Going
On?

The Community Supervision and
Corrections Department may
notify you when the offender is
placed on community supervision.
At that time, the CSCD will give
you the opportunity to state if
you want further notification
about what happens to the
offender. The CSCD staff is
limited by law as to what
information they can give you,
but they will help you as much
as possible. If you know the
offender was placed on community
supervision, but you do not
receive notification from the
department and want to know
what’s going on, contact the
department in writing. Include
your name, address, phone
number, the name of the
offender, and the cause number
(if known).

How Do I Get The Money The Court
Says The Offender Has To Pay Me?

If the offender has to pay
what is called restitution to
you, the CSCD will collect that
money and send it to you. You
don’t have to have direct
contact with the offender to get
your money. Usually, you will be
sent a portion of the money owed
to you once a month. Feel free
to ask the CSCD when to expect
the money to be sent. However,
the department can only send
money if the offender is paying
as ordered by the court.

The CSCD works hard to
enforce all of the conditions
placed on the offender, which
includes insisting the offender
meet financial responsibilities.
If the offender falls behind on
making payments or breaks any
other conditions of supervision,
the CSCD will take appropriate
actions against the offender.

There are laws which govern
what information is protected
which impact what can or cannot
be disclosed by the CSCD. The
following is NOT a complete list
of what a CSCD can or cannot
tell victims and other members
of the public. This is only a
sample of “cans” and “cannots”
to give you a general idea of
what to expect.

The CSCD can tell you:

Whether or not an
offender is under
supervision.

If the offender is
current on restitution
payments or not.

If a Motion to Revoke
Community Supervision has
been filed.

The results of a hearing
on a Motion to Revoke.

If the offender has been
placed into a residential
facility, but cannot
disclose if it is for
treatment of a substance
abuse or mental health
problem. If the offender has
been transferred to another
county and how to contact
that county’s CSCD.

The CSCD cannot tell you:

Whether of not the
offender is in a
drug/alcohol treatment
program.

Anything about the
offender’s medical or
psychological condition or
record.

General Information

Website Disclaimer

The information
presented in this website is provided as an
information source only. Information placed
in this website is not intended to replace
any official source. Every effort has been
made to offer correct information. Errors,
however, may occur. Consequently, the 39th
District CSCD disclaims any responsibility
for typographical errors and the accuracy of
the information contained on its website.
The 39th District CSCD makes no
warranty that the information presented in
this website is free of any computer viruses
and disclaims all responsibility and
liability.